How we can reduce poverty and inequality in developing countries?

I'm from Peru. A developing country. We are having a good perfomance in our economy, but we have to face a non resolved problem. One to 3 peruvians live on poverty conditions (see the link for wikipedia information bit.ly/17qs4Rw) .
How we can face this problem?

Sep 30 2013:
We, in the developed world, are absolutely tied to this problem. First colonialization / slavery @#$% the balance of the world. Next, we have elected leaders and created a value system, which put economic growth above everything (though, economic growth for us). It is illusory that "everyone" benefits (i.e. when factory jobs that didn't exist, suddenly do in poorer countries). Poor governments sell their land rights and low ball their labourers in order to participate. And because they lay down for us, we effectively ghetto-ize these countries and make them our #$%^. It takes them years / generations to recover from the health, environmental impacts that industry has on their part of the world.

We in the West need to stop taking (by way of consuming needlessly and incurring bad debts in order to do it) and start giving: our expertise, our compensation for ravaged land and people, our teachers, our scholarships.

Oct 1 2013:
Willful ignorance? People who have a selective filter for the primacy of economics over the environment, justice and equality have willful ignorance, Mr. Gilbert.

In many cases, the comparative advantage isn't a natural occurrence a la perfect free market (btw, has there EVER been one?), but a forced situation by the heavier hand (i.e. developed countries). Countries like the US and ones in Europe need to have strong armed tactics to get their way around world markets:

In the case of the World Bank lending money to Jamaica the "comparative advantage" of Ecuadorian bananas was forced onto Kingston's markets while their own rot on their trees; dairy farmers had to drain their milk tanks because US mid-western milk had to be favoured according to the lending rules.

Large pharmaceutical companies bemoan the ability of Brazil, China and India to make generic drugs out of their newly patented ones fresh out of clinical trails. The companies have had to cut deals with these companies first in order to make any kind of net gain out of the situation, which usually turns into patent-protection lawsuits that drag on for more years than the marketability of the drug. How would you describe submitting to comparative advantage in this case? It's messy.

And Peter Eigen, who quit the World Bank as its director in Kenya, describes the asymmetry between the developed and developing countries doing "business". Rampant corruption, collusion in unprotected, unregulated environments happened all the time. $300 million projects to be paid to European engineering firms, financing firms, insurance agencies etc. had no use, no economic benefits, no clients, but were hugely destructive were ushered through first. The less lucrative social projects never got through. It was large scale corruption. Bribery was routinely paid to win the privilege to do these lucrative projects. Private profits, public losses http://www.ted.com/talks/peter_eigen_how_to_expose_the_corrupt.html

Oct 1 2013:
$7000, but at what uncalculated cost to its environment and health of its people? Have you ever been hospitalized for respiratory problems due to working in China? I have! Top coal mine deaths in the world to fuel this pace of growth. And how strange that it has to artificially manipulate the value of its exchange rate and even lend money to its top consumer in order to buy its comparatively advantageously made goods! A loan that isn't going to get repaid, btw.

In a simpler society; in economic theory's vacuous illustrations, yes, comparative advantage has a logic to it.

Well, you go tell the Jamaicans and people from the other 140 some odd countries that have had to deal with the repayment terms (and corruption, see above) of the World Bank, that the World Bank has nothing to do with their comparative advantage.

Economics by now is a nasty mess of factors. Speaking about its parts as if each might somehow work in isolation of anything else is willfully ignorant.

Oct 6 2013:
well, the problem of poverty in developing countries is a broad subject. particularly in the case of my country (ghana) the education system is a total scrap. my reason being that, all what most education system in developing countries breeds are employees. the system shapes us to become employees rather than employers
again, in many developed countries, 3 sectors of the economy work perfectly and that is the primary being agriculture, secondary being the manufacturing which is very critical and the third being service or consumption. in the case of many developing countries, there is nothing like manufacturing or the econd sector therefore the government and citizens alike depends much more on import. without the manufacturing sector also. there will always exist unemployment.

as i have identified some which in my opinion thinks is the problem. hope most youth like myself from such developing countries can change our mind and do something good when we see or have the oputunity. i stand for correction.

I can't tell you how happy it makes me to read your words. You maybe young but you do have what it takes to accomplish what you set out to do: wisdom.

Wisdom to me means having three things: knowledge, resourcefulness and compassion. In order to bring your wisdom to the people, you need humility (which appears as a type of shyness - so your friends are right:). And you have that too. You are golden.

I am sure you can find your own way to making a real difference for betterment of human lives. I am always learning myself. And figuring out is a perpetual flow. But I know there are two steps, first getting to know our real selves (who am I?) and second figuring out how to bring our help to reach the people (how can I help?).

TED is a wonderful world of inspiration and I know you will listen carefully to the Talks and study the ways others have succeeded in being effective in their life.

Oct 3 2013:
A large part of poverty is actually a state of mind, more than reality. What would be a huge benefit to the poor countries, is to separate themselves from the world economy in general. Become self reliant. Don't use money from other countries. Produce almost all of what they need internally, not get it from trading with other countries.

The rich bleed the poor. That is how they become rich. So any time you deal with a rich nation, you are getting the life sucked out of your nation.

The problem can be fixed on a local scale as well. There is lots of ways to solve the problem.

It is usually a waste of time to try to get governments to do anything. We the people, need to make the change. People just don't accept new ideas, so it is near impossible to get the specific government people to accept them. There's a lot more people, so more chances of success getting people to accept the ideas.

I think it comes down to the poor, must do it themselves. My plans are mostly centered around using the poor to end poverty. They might do it out of desperation. The rich have no incentive.

Oct 21 2013:
Poverty exists in two forms: relative and absolute. In the context of Developing Countries (DCs), it is often is mix of both poverty types we are concerned with. To some extent, people under relative poverty can push themselves to higher levels but at absolute poverty, people do need help to kick start progress. And the policies implemented to help these people should tackle the root cause of the problem and not simply aim to superficially address what can be seen in the society. Help such a monetary benefits are not effective. Help needs to be centred around the progress of the common citizen. And education is one of the most effective methods, commonly known. Another less common method is the empowering women. In DCs, there often exists a phenomenon called 'feminization of poverty', in which women do not have their basic rights, and are most often disregarded by the community. They should be more involved politically and economically in the alleviation of poverty, and the way to go for this is of course education for women first, no doubt.

Oct 2 2013:
I am a firm believer that the best programs are ones that are grass roots and most if not all the work/plan is done by local individuals. The micro loan approach seems to work really well and helps the locals establish small industries. If they need help planning, the micro load agency teaches classes and gives suggestions but does not do the planning or work.

Another characteristic is that the locals may be below the poverty line but they do not feel poor nor do they feel that they are victims. These feelings usually lead to incorrect expectations with poor planning and/or execution.

Oct 5 2013:
Poor people must make the effort to help themselves and to be seen by the rest of the world to be doing so and thus attract Foreign Aid.

Wayne I too believe micro business is a good way forward. The touchy subject of family planning and microchip contraception (Bayer put it out at $8.10 and lasts 5 years) helps tremendously. With less birth rates of 8 or 10 children down to 1 or 2, aid or tax money, then goes not just to food and water but to building homes, solar power, vehicles, permaculture, computers mobile phones small businesses.

Some poor nations do not have income tax so do not help their poor.

Many so called rich nations have their own poor (unemployed) and pensioners who live below the poverty line and this inequity needs addressing too.

Oct 27 2013:
All of the comments below have valid arguments for the reduction of poverty and inequality. From reading the article “The Kids Left Behind by the Boom”, one can assume that unequal opportunities in health and education are among the top causes for the widening gap in the economy. Without having a strong healthcare system in which the poor have equal access to basic human survival needs and medical care as the wealthy, people of rural Peru have a harder time protecting themselves from illness, malnutrition and all the other things affecting those in poverty. According to the article referenced above, a third of all rural children suffer chronic malnutrition and more than 70 percent in the Puno region have anemia before age 3. This is greatly due to the fact that a large number of those kids start working in the mining industry at the age of 5. With all of those children sick and doing hard labor, it makes sense how the education system in that area of Peru is not very prestigious. They’re being denied of a proper education simply because they happen to live in the wrong part of the country. It seems to be pure ignorance from the government to the rural areas of Peru because it appears that they’re not seeing what’s truly happening right under their nose. If the government could step up and give the children a better opportunity to flourish in their youth days with less illness, no child labor and better education, Peru could find the light at the end of this dark tunnel to aim towards a better future. As Frederick Douglas once said, “It’s easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”

Oct 25 2013:
In the Article; The Peru Kids Left Behind it talks about the problem that many Peruvians face when they live in mountainous ares of the country. In developed parts like Lima, living conditions are on the rise, and Peru is even rated as an upper-middle class economy. For children like Henrry everything is going against him and he has to struggle through lots of adversity. Already he has to survive in the cold and harsh weather, but he goes above and beyond, and wants to get an education. Health wise he has to deal with harmful chemicals like mercury and cyanide. Already the statistics are not in his favor, 78% of indigenous children live in poverty. Children like Henrry suffer through malnutrition, anemia and mercury poisoning. The families wish they could take their families off of the mountains and into a better setting, but the only thing preventing them is their lack of money. The main problem in Peru is that most of the wealth is being sent to big cities like Lima, and the people that live in rural areas are left in poverty.

Oct 25 2013:
I believe we can reduce poverty and inequality in developing countries through education.
Education has proven to be beneficial to everyone. Likewise, education leads to higher paying jobs such as doctors and lawyers. Furthermore, we need to focus on educating women and empowering them. One of the key differences between developed nations and developing nations is the rights and freedoms of women. By providing better education to rural areas in developing countries, poverty and inequality will decline.

Oct 25 2013:
Although countries, such as Peru, are developing and their economy is doing well, there are still problems like inequality and poverty that exist. Something needs to be done to prevent these problems from growing and occuring more often. I think it's important that the country and its government understands why there is still poverty and inequality in Peru so that they know exactly how they can help. In a country where many children are not given the proper education because of their financial situation, as well as their race, it's easy to see how this growing country is forgetting about the people who need help the most. The government needs to step in and provide good education to these children so that they can have a brighter future and get good jobs to help the economy grow and expand later on. Being a country that is doing so well economically, the government should also be able to provide the families of these children who are suffering from poor education as well as malnutrition with services and goods to help them escape the difficulties of living in poverty. I think the government can play a big role in helping to reduce poverty and inequality in Peru.

Oct 25 2013:
I agree, it is critical that the government of the country to step in to help a developing country when people are in need. The government is the only organization that can make a real difference in the lives of their people because other organizations can only scratch the surface of their problems.

Oct 24 2013:
Many countries face a similar problem when it comes to poverty and that is the inequality between social classes. The best way to start closing the gap between the rich and poor is to get help and support from the government. By providing the poor with access to education, healthy food, clean water and options of employment, the government would be improving the lives of the lower class and creating a smaller gap between the haves and have not’s. In order for these changes to be implemented the government must have a strong and stable structure of its own. They then can have the lives of their people in mind and work on the necessary improvements. A thriving nation is one that can use its own resources to benefit its citizens and bring in a large amount of profit. Improving the lives of the lower class and striving for social equality within a country is not an easy or quick task to implement. Working towards the status of a developed nation while decreasing poverty takes a lot of work, but if a government is dedicate to help its people they will improve the country as a whole.

Oct 24 2013:
The best way to reduce poverty levels and inequality in developing nations is to get the government onboard with closing the gap between the rich and poor. Affirmative action toward the public is the only way a developing country can solve the growing issue of inequality. By providing education, clean food and water, and new jobs for the poor, the country can both close the gap and go from developing to developed. For this to occur governments must be organized in a way that corruption and dictatorships are taken out of the picture. The government must choose to work for the people and help create a prosperous nation that uses their own resources correctly to maximize their success as a nation. It is a very difficult idea for most governments to wrap their heads around and would be very difficult to implement for even one country, but if they really wanted change this would be the ideal plan to reduce poverty in a country. The people will be on average healthier and happier with the new standard of living if all water and food is clean and they are educated into the 21st century.

Oct 14 2013:
I know very little about Peru, and the little that I do know is informed by reading - however I have visited India and I am remotely (via internet) working with colleagues in rural and remote Kenya to address some of the issue surrounding poverty and in equality in the developing world. I don't consider myself an expert, just a thoughtful and humane human-being. In the little experience I have I would suggest that infrastructure might help to reduce some of the inequality, transportation, energy, schools, sanitation and healthcare. In the project I am working ok in Kenya part of the solution will come from green energy, Biogas in particular as a three pronged solution, with the Biogas being used for cooking in the main and to provide some night-time lighting. I appreciate that the situation in Rural and Remote Kenya is quite likely to be very different from the issues which face people in Peru - but my colleagues and I feel that enabling each village to be sustainable in their own energy production rather than adopting the western big grid models will work better especially as the farming communities in this part of Kenya are very poor and couldn't afford to pay energy bills if commercial providers came to town. Education is another way to help - I am sure that the Peruvian people irrespective of whether they live in rural and remote parts or the bigger towns and cities are very savvy and innovative.
As Henry Woeltjen has also said - infrastructure is of major importance as this enables goods to be transported from one part of the country to another; and for this Government or regional municipalities need to be involved and provide a joined-up approach how to best serve the people in these communities.
I appreciate there are lots of reason which contribute to poverty and inequality and there is no "one size fits all" solution so "cherry picking" the best mix on might also go some way to serve the people more effectively.

Oct 10 2013:
I am not an Economist. Nature has given wealth even to developing countries. Unfortunately, we are not able fully harvest the potential of human resource. In the new world, we can sell everything, provided we are able to make things with competitive value addition and quality. It needs we should bring about a culture which is also supported by a big chunk of educated people who are not corrupt. Education is primary and a good culture development is secondary. Negative forces should be plugged. The main ones are alcohol, drugs and terrorism.All these are ideal. But do you have strong unselfish leadership?

Oct 8 2013:
There is a positive correlation between freedom and economic prosperity for citizens. Free markets, free exchange of ideas, civil liberties, free trade, freedom to move about - all these will raise the standard of living. http://www.independent.org/pdf/tir/tir_08_2_2_berggren.pdf

Oct 5 2013:
In my view poverty is a product of inequality in all spheres of social, political and economic relations under a stable climatic and environmental conditions. However, greed is the major driver of this phenomenon called poverty that leads to all forms of social evils like corruption, injustice, oppression, terrorism, bad governance, inflation, abuse of labour and labour migration to mention but few. To this end, poverty can be eradicated fundamentally when equality exist among citizens, nations and civilizations towards a borderless social formation. In other words, economies of poor nations are integrated with rich nations based on shared civilization, which will in turn limits the gap between developed and developing nations; the concept of open globalization. For further understanding of this approach, please read the Open World System and Political Economy article on www.alternativesjournal.net.

Oct 6 2013:
I agree with your opinion. It is a pretty diffuclt topic to describe and explain even if we know answers.
My understanding about poverty and inequality is that it is very hard to approach and resolve unless the rich and high-class people share and concede what they have had. It seems unachievable for me - -.

Oct 5 2013:
Poverty is a severe injustice and abuse of human rights. One of the ways in which we can help eradicate the poverty and injustice experienced by those in developing countries is through education and in particular educating the young! It has always been said that children are the future of society, so developing countries should be investing heavily in educating those of the younger generation. This will ensure that these growing minds with limitless potential are nurtured and moulded into the future shapers of society.

Oct 4 2013:
The countries with the worse poverty tend to have corruption. In natural resource based economies, the profits tend to go to the government and their cronies. This is hard to stop. Compare it to Norway which spreads it NR bounty amongst its entire nation improving schools and healthcare.

The best way to end poverty and inequity is true democracy, rule of law, education, and base healthcare.
A good TED talk is linked below:

Oct 2 2013:
Jaime, During the period of 1968 - 1975 the elected official made a radical change to communism and attempted income redistribution, creation of a large state owned sector, and socialism with resulted in entitlements that could not be supported. Despite the failure at all levels, these reforms were not reversed until the 1990's. New leadership ended price controls, protectionism, restrictions on foreign direct investment, and most state ownership of companies. Reforms have permitted sustained economic growth since 1993. Recent economic growth has been fueled by macroeconomic stability, improved terms of trade, and rising investment and consumption.

Addressing poverty and inequality: 75.9% live in urban areas and 24.1% in rural areas. The life styles are most dramatically demonstrated when side by side comparison of the urban VS rural live are compared. I would be safe in saying that the farmers who have lived off the land for many generations and bartered for goods and needs would not know how poor they are. You say 1 in 3 ... Wikipedia says only 9.8% live in poverty. Certainly not one third by their accounting. We make a big deal of a whole village that only takes in $50 in currency in a year. There is no record of anyone dying from hunger ... no power no problem .... no cloths no problem .... no car no problem. Why must we try to change everything we come in contact with ... In that society if I had ten cows I might be "wealthy" and much respected .... but some social worker comes along and says you live in poverty.

There will always be a top and a bottom. In the USA the "do gooders" say we must help the poor ... we build housing complexes and they tear them up ... the government enact entitlements and they refuse to work because they are getting everything for free ... so why work. We now face generational welfare families.

Be cautious of social programs and welfare handouts. There is no such thing as a "free lunch" ...

Oct 2 2013:
Mr. Winner.
I can see you have a deep knowledge about peruvian economic history. You've made a good resumen of peruvian economic phases. And yes, peruvian GDP is in growing since 1993, if financial crisis is not considered, although we have an feedstock-based economy.

Actually, Wikipedia says that in Peru the poverty level dropped from 36.2% in 2008 to 25.8% in the past year. We cand find similar numbers on peruvian statistics institute called INEI (you can see more in spanish and english here http://www.inei.gob.pe/).

I think poverty is not about what we can buy with some money. I think poverty goes beyond and it is about oportunities to be better, about indivudual elections, health care, education and inclusive human rights. In my country kids in peruvian andes froze to death (see this link in spanish bit.ly/NQ8HmW). The poverty have several edges.

We don't need people that bring us charity, we need more skills that the only way we can acquire them is through quality education.We have to teach how to catch fishes.

Oct 2 2013:
I can see the confusion here ... in the last sentence in Wikipedia (Peru) under economics it states "According to 2010 data, 31.3% of its total population is poor, including 9.8% that lives in poverty.[63]"

However in the third paragraph of the opening comments it states: " It is a developing country with a high Human Development Index score and a poverty level around 28.7 percent."

Same article ... different "facts".

The first one is based on Human Development Index (HDI). "the HDI can be viewed as an index of “potential” human development that could be achieved if there were no inequality)".[3]

The second one is based on the average income and a line drawn at which point defines the difference between poor and poverty.

As a economic student I am sure you are aware of the Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq and this formula for HDI. So the 28.7% "fact" is not a fact at all. Just a what if .... (HDI) is a composite statistic of life expectancy, education, and income indices used to rank countries into four tiers of human development as stated in your paragraph three.

I admire education ... but in this case we do not need a formula ... we need real people on the ground with a heart, soul, and some common sense to compare apples to apples and the real world.

Oct 1 2013:
We hosted a student from southern Brazil at our company in Canada as part of her languages training in business. What was interesting was to talk about some of the challenges to building her family's business as compared to our experience. There were lack of Infrastructure components in that area of Brazil which made it difficult for companies to compete in the same way that non-developing countries could. The question then became, what were the factors which would be needed for the government components (1) knowledge, 2) capable and ethical leaders) to successfully support the economy, as well as sufficient sources of funds for this. For example, having a functional road infrastructure for qualified industries. There is also the consideration of local natural resources - does the country have a starting point with which to bring international trade, to satisfy its local needs locally (e.g. can provide its own food, et al) - this would lend towards a net "trade deficit or gain". Available education is a factor as well - can enough of the population qualify as skilled workers of a given type to attract investment to the area? War and cultural/religious conflict, and disease/lack of health can decimate local economies as well. Recognizing all persons as being of value is important. This is the first step in empowering at the grass roots level along with access to information. Hans Rosling's Ted Talk also mentioned Technology – labor saving devices to free up time so there is a chance to do more.

I suspect that the challenges of each developing country are unique, and that the challenge of poverty is always a complex issue. I think the world is making progress towards increased standards of living across many countries, and I sincerely hope to see this continue.

Sep 30 2013:
Elect people who are motivated to care for people. People not influenced by money. People who are willing to do their best and serve one term. People who will not expect pay after leaving government. You can use the US government as an example that does not work.

Sep 30 2013:
This is an issue of unfair systems; and in some cases, the entitlement/poverty mentality of the poor.
It is not a problem that can be solved by a single simple solution. The poor must be willing to take responsibility for their lives, by pursuit of education and enlightenment, and by hardwork. Governments should provide enabling environments for small-scale business, so as to encourage new ones and growth of the already established one.

Then comes the issue of greed. Legislations can not stop greed; it is in the heart of a powerful section of the society.

In the end, this is a battle against greed and laziness. With the change required of the greedy and lazy I'd say, "Good luck on this".

Sep 30 2013:
Good question Jaime, I would say A society formed of Common interest to eradicate poverty and work for the welfare of people can reduce poverty and inequality, this would be more of theoretical but CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) is one such initiative Models that are adopted by Companies for the upliftment of the Society. Shurely goodwill and Support from government would bring in additional advantage to the Society.

Oct 28 2013:
I personally think that to have the development of countries such as Peru and others worldwide are successful, they must first start at the base of the people. Unfortunately for countries such as Peru, much of the base of the population live in poverty conditions. I personally think to organizations such as Feed My Starving Children to help combat these issues. By feeding those children the necessary nourishment, they are able to avoid the question of, “Where will my next meal come from?” In the example that I found in the New York Times, titled “The Kids Left Behind by the Boom”, one child by the name of Henrry Ochochoque, a 12 year old living in poverty conditions in Peru; was “Undernourished, anemic, with a brain slowed by toxic chemicals.” (“The Kids Left Behind by the Boom”, Marie Arana”). Personally, I believe that the problem can be solved by improving the situation of the impoverished people’s of these nations to have a better standard of living. Whether that can be giving those better housing, cleaner areas, or by simply giving them all 3 square meals a day, these things can be solved by simply increasing their lives. By simply doing one thing to increase people’s lives, each and every country with impoverished people can have all of their problems solved simply and effectively.

Oct 28 2013:
Poverty is a growing issue among many countries - not just Peru. Like many others have commented we must look at the causes and issues that go along with poverty and inequality. In order to bridge the gap between the haves and have nots in Peru the government must focus on the have nots. By this i mean that instead of focusing on the successful city of Lima, where the people are wealthy and the economy booming, and making it even better they need to focus on the outside of Lima. Outside of Lima conditions are terrible and the rural poverty rate is 54% (The Kids Left Behind the Boom, Marie Arana).
Once the government switches their focus there can then be improvement. To begin the country needs to put a large amount of their budget towards education. The lack of education is a major factor in poverty and also creates a large gap between haves and have nots. Those that have a higher education are proven to be more successful and essentially become a "have". By making education more of a priority this can in return also reduce unemployment rates and create more able workers.
Another action that the government can take has to deal with health care. One of the reasons for the large gap between the haves and have nots has to do with health. 70% of the children in Peru have anemia before age 3 (The Kids Left Behind the Boom, Marie Arana). That is a staggering number that with a little bit of government involvement can be reduced. By setting up better health care plans and making medicine more available many lives would be saved. With better health care the country of Peru would over all improve and the citizens could be more likely to be successful.
Overall the government must focus on education and health care in order to improve the issues of poverty and inequality. If they decide to not get involved and focus only on improving the already improved poverty and inequality will not be fixed.

Oct 28 2013:
Poverty is still a very large issue in many countries today. Although Peru may be considered to be prospering many parts are being left behind. Poverty is not the sole issue, and there are many factors that play in and add up to the overall problem of poverty. Two areas hit hard in the article, “The Kids Left Behind by the Boom”, were education and healthcare. One key area that needs to be addressed is equal spread of education throughout. In Peru for example there are some areas that are well educated, but then there are areas like where Hennry attended that lack in educating. If Henry were to stay in La Rinconada, Peru instead of moving to Juliaca, Henrry Ochochoque's goals would more than likely not have been met. Based on school location the amount of value given to education varies dramatically. Another area that is leaving parts out is healthcare. According to the article Hennry is too small for his age. Hennry is a twelve year old and is four feet, two inches, which is the average size of an eight year old in America. He is below normal hight as well as undernourished and anemic. Anemic is very common in fact more than 70 percent develop anemia before the age of three. Poverty is very concerning and in order to fix this, other areas need to be address first to lead to ending poverty.

Oct 28 2013:
Poverty is viewed as one of the biggest problems in our current society. In order to reduce poverty and inequality in developing countries, there needs to be a shift in focus to the education of those living in poverty. In developing countries like Peru, a child living in the rural area of the country doesn’t get as good of an education as a child living in the urban areas, and they usually begin working at the young age of five. According to the New York Times article, “If they attend school, they do so for only a few years and in Spanish — not Quechua or Aymara, the languages spoken at home.” The government needs to establish a progressive education system throughout the entire country, not only the richer areas. Children are the future of society, so the government of developing countries like Peru should invest in proper education. This will hopefully lead to a higher employment rate and eventually progress the country as a whole, instead of the current uneven development.

Oct 28 2013:
The problem today with developing countries is that they are growing quickly in a positive way, but the income and poverty level gap increase as the country continues to grow. In the article "The Peru Kids Left Behind by the Boom" by Marie Arana, it is outlined that the rich class is composed of mostly white people who continue to get richer while the lower class consists of those with darker skin colors. Life is especially hard for indigenous children of Peru, 78% of children live in poverty, and more than 70% of children in Peru have anemia by age two. The first step in making improvements overall is to improve the general health of the country. Puna is almost completely ignored by the government, recieving no help or support. Help from the government would result in an improvment for all in all aspects of living. By improving health levels, living conditions with improve for all, allowing kids like Henry to have the ability to get ahead in live without being set back by their financial situation. Another way to change the class gap is to help to educate children. Children in Peru are pulled out of school at a young age to work as miners. This puts them at a disadvantage immediately. Children are not able to move forward if they wish to make a career change because they are not educated to do anything else. In any situation. It is crucial that the government is involved. without government help, there is no efficient way to make a change. the government needs to be fully committed to helping citizens and raising the living conditions for those who live in poverty. If there is no one to help, there will be no change.

Oct 28 2013:
We can not do anything on a reasonable scale. Only the government can make a difference, if they wanted to. Usually every government is only there for their own benefit, whether it is pay or esteem.

This is not only the case in countries like Peru, it also applies to the leaders of the First Nation people in North America and Canada. They get lots of money from the federal governments but do not pass it on or use it for the benefit of their people. Those people live in horrible conditions and their education system is the pits.
There should be oversight as to where the leaders spend the money!

Oct 27 2013:
By the nature of networking and the use of protocols that facilitate the survival of the human species, it seems more than possible to overcome world poverty quickly and in good spirits. All that is required is a reasonable state of mind and a change of heart. If the population of a nation were to truly vote, with voice and purse, demand would be supplied.

Think of it. An entire nation voting, in transparency and equality. And those without a voice, those without the faculty or ability to voice themselves being connected through compassion and participation.

The various social, enterprise, and power networks allow for the adherence to protocols that have the capacity to connect the masses of people that require employment and connectivity to the network.

Networking seems to be the next paradigm in civilized evolution. The politics of heredity is becoming the politics of humanity.

Take Google, for instance, as a network, they could employ the entire population below the poverty level in the US, simply to become connected and consume and create content/product. Google could acquire all the requisite assets and facilitate the expense of their employee through the life of their employment. If the utility of survival becomes an expense of the employer, people become the asset, the product, and the consumer in a virtuous cycle.

Networks could become sovereign as a congress of people, having a network constitution. Thereby, each bit/person in the network would be subject to the same protocols and maintained by the totality of networked resources.

Oct 27 2013:
Although there is good performance in the country of Peru, the prosperity is isolated to certain parts of Peru. Much of Peru is facing an issue that is larger than just poverty; there are underlying issues that must be resolved first before the large issue of poverty can be solved. One factor that’s contributing to the widespread of poverty is the unequal opportunities to be properly educated. As shown in the article “The Peru Kids Left Behind by the Boom”, A 12-year old, Henrry Ochochoque received a report card with straight A’s and has hopes and dreams of becoming an astronaut. None of those dreams would have been remotely possible if he didn’t move from the filthy gold-mining town of La Riconada Peru to the highly populated and economically stable city of Juliaca. In this new city schools are better, and people are more concerned with creating and establishing a better life for the younger generations. Goals and morals like that need to be encouraged and executed in cities all over Peru. With younger generations being highly educated they are able to create opportunities and success, which can bring all of Peru out of this devastating poverty problem. However, although Henrry academically is on his way up, his health speaks differently. He is too small for his age, he is 4food 2, as tall as an average 8-year-old. He is also undernourished, anemic and with a brain that is slowed down by toxic chemicals, leaving him drastically unprepared for the 21st century job world. Healthcare must be fixed by the government but according to Leon Quispe, a sociologist worker for the poor, “It’s the only way we can get attention, and we are the rump-end of the country. We have no support from the government. Corruption is endemic. No one helps. No one educates. No one listens to us here without a march.” Without full government support financially, the country as a whole has no chance of resolving their poverty epidemic anytime soon.

Oct 27 2013:
Even though Peru is a booming country with its economy growing 9.8% in 2008 poverty and inequality are a wide spread problem across its borders. With the gap between the rich and poor increasing at an alarming rate something has to be done before it is too late. In LIma, the capital of Peru, the poverty rate is at 15.7% in 2011 down from 44.8% in 2004 while outside of Lima the poverty level is a staggering 54%. Nothing is being done due to corrupt officials and lurking mining firms from Canada, United States, and Australia whose only intentions are to dig up all the minerals and leave the indigenous people behind. To make a change, education and healthcare need to be improved all across Peru. It starts with the Peruvian government and their ability to make these changes. Currently there are 78% of indigenous children living in poverty and a third of them suffer chronic malnutrition (Arana, Maria NY Times). If the government could help supply basic health services and medication to these children and adults they would have one less thing to worry about with their already stressed lives. Also, in Maria Arana's article it states that children begin working at age 5 to help support their families in poverty. These kids need to be going to school and not going to a mine. One suggestion would be to enforce a federal law for a minimum wage and if their already is one in place raise it because five year olds should not be working. Finding a solution for this problem will take time and effort but if the Peruvian government takes action it could be resolved.

Oct 27 2013:
Poverty continues to prove itself to be the source of the majority of the pain and suffering in the world. The unfortunate thing is that poverty stems off of many greater issues. In order to deal with an issue, you must deal with it from the root. In order to minimize the issue of poverty, taking a closer look at children born into poverty and how they deal with surviving on a daily basis could lead to a more clear solution to the issue. In Peru, more than 70% of the kids in the Puno region have anemia before they turn 3 years old. Unfortunately, this statistic puts these children behind a healthy child when they have very little control over this issue. Something that could be changed, that some kids have control of to a certain extent is education. By providing education to children would allow them to create a basis of knowledge that could positively influence the way they live their life and take care of themselves. Overall, the lack of resources that many countries do not have creates an atmosphere within the country that does not give opportunities to those who deserve them.

Oct 27 2013:
This is a very sad thing happening in Peru. Developing countries are very big problems with poverty and inequality. Nothing is really being done to fix these problems either. In the article, "The Kids Left Behind by the Boom" explains very well all the problems happening in developing countries like Peru. The poverty line in Lima, fell from 44.8 percent in 2004 all the way down to 15.7 percent in 2011. That's a drastic drop within a span of 7 years. But with all the rural parts outside of Lima, poverty rates are up 54 percent, and something needs to be about that. The main reason I believe that's happening is there is not enough education out in the rural areas of developing countries , so they're bound to end up being in poverty since it will be very hard to get a job. A third of all rural children suffer chronic malnutrition, and more than 70 percent of anemia by the age of 3. That probably has a lot do with health care, and rural parts of the country don't have as much access to health care as the bigger cities do. With the inequality, the richer are getting richer, and the poorer are getting poorer. Just about all the rich people tend to be white there. The white people most likely got a better education than the rest which is why they have more money, and that's the problem of inequality.

Oct 27 2013:
The issues in Peru are not isolated. Countries all around the world have huge discrepancies between those who have access to the resources needed to be successful, and those who are struggling to keep up with a developing country. The first step to a prosperous country is a healthy society, and that would require better quality health care for Peruvians. However, this is a difficult goal to achieve because, according to the article “The Kids Left Behind by the Boom”, kids begin working in mines and factories by the age of 5, leading to an unhealthy youth population that doesn’t have access to basic medical support. Because of the declining health of these children, education is never a priority for them, and along the same lines, there aren’t many opportunities for them to gain education. I think the other way to reduce the poverty is to educate all people in these developing countries so that they can take on more prestigious jobs and start supporting themselves. If the government helped to create schools and train teachers to go out and seek those uneducated children who are thirsty for knowledge, that the course of the country could be completely reversed, and Peru could start to narrow the distance between the haves and the have-nots.

Oct 27 2013:
Despite the fact that the country of Peru is said to be in a booming economic state, there are only select parts of the country that are feeling these effects. In some parts of Peru, such as the poor outback areas outside of the major cities can have around a 54% rural poverty rate, while others who live in the big cities are experiencing the rush of the 9.8% increase in the economy. This wide spread gap is causing major issues for the citizens of countries such as Peru. The two main causes of this immense societal gap are access to decent healthcare and educational opportunities. Citizens who live in the rural areas of countries such as Peru do not have access to basic medical healthcare, resulting in many diseases being spread and causing devastation to the country. According to an article by Marie Arana, about 1/3 of the rural children who live in Peru suffer from chronic malnutrition. Lack of education is also a major contributor to the growing societal gap. When children start working in the mines of Peru around age 5, they lose valuable education that could help them succeed in the 21st century. Instead, they are stuck to a life of hard manual labor and no skills to help them to find a better life. If we can help persuade the Peruvian government and others like it, to provide the lower class of society with ample medical care and fair educational opportunities to all children in Peru, we may be able to help close this threatening societal gap.

Oct 27 2013:
This is a very complex problem to address, but it must be done for the sake of all the Peruvians living under the poverty line. The first step to try and improve things should be bettering the education system of Peru for every kid. To shrink the huge income gap between the wealthy and the poor, all kids need to receive a quality education so they get an equal shot at making a life for themselves. Currently, the education system in Peru is not quality, not easily available, and kids drop out of school and work as soon as they can, around 5 years old. Also, the kids who stay in school don't even learn in their native language, which makes taking learning and using it in the real world close to impossible. I got this information from the atricle "The Kids Left Behind from the Boom" from the NY Times. Lastly, I would look at spreading the wealth from the few nice cities out into the more rural areas, because that is mainly where the poverty issue lies. Kids shouldn't be doomed to a destiny of failure and poverty just because they don't live in a major city.

Oct 27 2013:
Although poverty and inequality are major problems in developing countries, little is being done to address these issues. The rich keep getting richer, and the poor are becoming poorer. This is displayed in the article “The Kids Left Behind by the Boom” by Marie Arana of the New York Times. Lima’s poverty rate is 15.7 percent and earns 21 times the amount of money that the rural parts of Peru which are experiencing a poverty rate of 54 percent. This could be due to the lack of quality education outside of the major cities of this country. Development beyond the largest cities would suit Peru well if they wish to keep advancing. If the uneducated children of Peru grow up to raise families, their children will most likely be uneducated too; which will not help poverty rates decline whatsoever. The expansion of education and jobs would help lessen the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Health is also a major issue among the poor in Peru. Children are malnourished, more than 70 percent Puno region have anemia before they turn 3 years old, and over 75% of adults were tested for mercury poisoning in the Madre de Dios region. The studies have shown that this is triple the danger levels and that children are also susceptible to the same dangers. In my opinion education is one of the most important pieces in becoming a developed nation. Knowledge is power and it opens the door to more opportunities to increase wealth and health.

Oct 27 2013:
In countries such as Peru that are dealing with a high gap between the impoverished and the striving, the key to a stable solution is a strong education system. Although it seems as though education is already available to the impoverished, it is a low level of education that does not give the children or their parents the knowledge they need to be successful. If children such as those mentioned in the article “The Kids Left Behind by the Boom” were given a fair shot at a good education, they would be much more likely to be successful and lead a life better than that in which they grew up in. Once the government focuses on improving their education, the affects will trickle down to all levels as the first effected children grow up and have their own kids and they all begin to raise their standard of living. There is obviously no easy fix to poverty, and a focus on education will not be the cure to all problems but it is the best place to start. Spreading economic growth to the cities that are impoverished will provide the citizens with the opportunity to begin a better lifestyle and provide for their families which will help the economy of the country overall. I strongly believe that the best place for a country such as Peru to start is education.

Oct 27 2013:
Developing countries with large populations that seek a successful democracy must enlarge their interpretation compared to the developed worlds limited literal belief in placing the individual above society. This has led to huge inequality within their own economies. Global statistics show that less than 2% in the developed democracies control 80% of all wealth. Today the individual needs protection not from society but from the Government and State. However in socio economic civil issues, the individual must secede in favor of the larger unit of which he/she is just a constituent. This in no way implies a socialistic pattern, just an enlargement of existing democracy, whose intent was always based on the assumption that if an individual is free, then society will be free. Trickle down has failed in economics and democracy.

Oct 27 2013:
Poverty has always been an issue across the globe, and many other countries like Peru are facing the same inequalities. In the article, León Isaac Quispe, the sociologist working for the poor had said, “We are the rump-end of the country. We have no support from government. Corruption is endemic.” This quote demonstrates how helpless and hopeless people are around the world. To overcome the high poverty levels and inequalities across nations the government needs to step in and take action. In Peru, parts of the country like Lima have educational systems and resources to make for a healthy lifestyle, where the majority of the rest of the country is left with horrible living conditions, unsanitary environments, and no education. The wealth and resources need to be equally distributed in order to reduce the poverty in a country as a whole. To do this, the government has to establish a better health care plan and to open up more schools for education. The poverty rates will continue to increase without an education, because as generations grow not only will the children be uneducated but so will the adults, which leads to a never ending circle of despair. Education will open doors to more job opportunities and money distributed to the poor which will lead to better living conditions and healthier lifestyles. If developing countries had the education and wealth distributed equally, there would not be such a large line separating the poor from wealthy.

Oct 27 2013:
In the world today, many countries like Peru are facing poverty and inequality throughout their population. To overcome these problems that split their nations, the government of the developing country should help their country grow by increasing the quality of healthcare and educational systems. If a family does not have access to proper health care, their quality of life is diminished and they are not able to get educated or work if they are sick. If the population was healthier, more people could be used in the workforce to benefit the country. It would also help the reputation of the country if epidemics like AIDS were taken under control with medication and prevention awareness. Education would help people escape poverty, and the country would benefit immensely if it was successful in providing education to their population. If everyone was allowed access to proper education, more opportunities would be available to the people and the country could become competitive with other countries in developing new technology with a more educated base of people. For a country to become more developed, it is critically important for the country to spread out resources and money. If Peru put these practices into motion, the quality of life would increase dramatically for their citizens living in poverty.

Oct 27 2013:
In my view: first of all mental poverty and inequality should be removed. it seems we limit ourselves from becoming more than what our situation dictates. this is possible by providing access of information and training materials along with necessary support when they need it. people need to first understand than change is always possible if we dare believe in them. once we have strength in our heart and peace in our head we can achieve any target.

Oct 27 2013:
Having a community with good health is a good way to start the fight against poverty. The government can help create better healthcare services that will be accessible and affordable to anyone who needs it. The system needs to be affordable, so that those who are in poverty can still take care of themselves and those who are sick will not go broke because of all their medical bills. However, just having a good healthcare system won't get people out of poverty alone. Getting an education is also very important. The government could also help with this by making education available to everyone who needs it. Equality is key here. Everyone needs an education to help themselves get out of poverty or to stay out of poverty. If everyone has an education it will set a higher standard of living for the country because once someone has an education, they will need a job. Yet one more way the government can get involved is by creating more well paying jobs. By doing so, many more citizens will be able to support their families and help themselves get out of poverty.

Oct 26 2013:
The capitalist competition enables winners to win and losers to starve. We need to modify the economic mode so that we all win in synergy. To achieve this we need to retain economic competition among companies while democratising the distribution to reflect our human desire to help. No one wants to be responsible for starving children or rendering human life miserable and opportunity free.
The new situation can emerge from social business, charities and ethical consumers displaying their positive visible reputations online.
Social business and charities can set up systems enabling ethical consumers and donors to display and build their reputations online on outgoing email and social media. Other people will join in the scheme not wanting to have a poor reputation among their peer groups.
This will lead to a growth of the not for profit charitable business sector providing more produce - the sector growing in economic power and influence.
Ethical producers / companies shall have lists of charitable causes which they wish to donate their profits to and ethical consumers can indicate to which causes they wish their portion of profit generated directed at.
It is envisaged that as such a scenario develops the charitable unowned sector shall grow at the expense of capitalism.
There may be a talent exodus away from capitalist producers towards the ethical sector. In addition through lifetime lagacies and wills company shares and wealth may transfer across to the newl sector.
Ethical producers shall direct charitable donation towards the causes desired by ethical consumers. Ethical producers shall strive for sustainable production as desired by the consumers. Large inefficient ethical organisations would lose consumer support to newer growing organisations.
The growing sector would encourage consumers to consume sustainably and a culyure of caring for one another may emerge. The world can move onto a sustainable footing within a fair and free ideology www.goviralbaby.com

Oct 27 2013:
Despite what you make think.. everybody benefits from capitalism when it is balanced with a legitimized law system. Read my comment below.. Its the corruption between business and soveriegn political governments that create much inequality in a lot of developing countries.. India and South Korea are great models for developing countries to emulate.. before legitimate business can manifest there needs to be a legitimate law system that protects individuals against corruption and secures there personal liberties.. Watch the TED talk "7 Killer Apps"

Oct 27 2013:
I agree that we have benefitted from capitalism. Social democracies in the west have raised living standards for all - however its the unending growth that capitalism drives on which is causing harm. We cannot all consume like a succesfull westerner, there are not enough resources to go around and our environment suffers. When does the growth stop? Its my view that the next evolution of capitalism will see responsible consumers insisting their demands are met for a sustainable environment for their children and future generations. There shall be demand for fair opportunities and an end to extreme poverty. The ethical demand shall be met with ethical supply.
Ethical demand can greatly be encouraged when a system of reputation is introduced. On this TED system we build reputations which are visible and we behave responsibly within the system. On ebay visible reputations are built by buyers and sellers and loh and behold pretty much everyone is honest. Its my view that ethical suppliers, social business, charities can create online reputation systems which consumers can sign up to and build as they ethically behave. Others will join in not wanting to be left without reputation among their peers. Social business can then expand and be vibrant alongside and competing with traditional capitalism. I envisage a scenario that through lifetime legacies, wills, corporate ownership can be transferred to the unowned charitable sector. Can we have a world in which the corporations strive to make the world a better place as the primary objective? That after all is our true demand.
I have a lengthy essay on www.goviralbaby.com if this sort of idea interests.

Oct 25 2013:
Poverty is a serious problem that needs to be fixed in order to strive for equality. I believe the solutions are to improve education and health. This can be done with the help of the government. The government needs to step in and help to make sure each kid is receiving an equal education. Also, the government needs to help families who are not living in the greatest conditions and who are suffering from health problems because of where they live. These families also need to receive nutritious food to help them succeed in education and this will assist them in becoming healthier. They should get help to receive the food from the government and nonprofit organizations. As a country they need to put race and money aside to close the gap between the wealthy and poor. This will allow more equality for kids and families who are deserving of it. In conclusion, it will help the country better as a whole when the government considers helping the people who need it the most.

Oct 25 2013:
I agree with some of the comments below that the issue of inequality can be helped through education. Although many of these countries are getting better with inequality and freedom they still lack basic rights for women and minority groups. Most of the developing countries that are struggling with inequality issues have the resources needed to economically thrive, all it takes is utilizing those resources. In America and other well set countries our definition of developed may be farfetched compared to other countries. In order for a country to be considered developed I believe everyone should be in good health and resources should be used, which would give the citizens more opportunities to get jobs and improve their lives. By making education a bigger priority people will be given the opportunity to get jobs that pay more than jobs that require no education.

Oct 25 2013:
Health is the basis for the success of any country. That doesn't mean every single person needs to be glowing and living to be 102. This means that each person has basic care and hygiene for themselves. Once health care is provided, education can given and then the country may start to rise out of poverty. The other issue is that we need to be able to get education spread throughout the country, which may be difficult and costly depending on the situation.
The best way for a nation to get out of poverty would be to provide basic health care, have foreign companies create factories and branches in the country, and then use the money from those companies to build an education system. By becoming a foreign investment, the nation can begin to create a profit and work themselves out of poverty, while at the same time begin to educate the population.

Oct 25 2013:
I wish the solution to poverty were simple and straight forward, but alas the road to development involves more than one factor. As a citizen of Guatemala I have come face to face with poverty and its effects on social development. In class we discussed that, before a country can focus on improving, its three basic needs had to be met. Education. Health. Security. If one fails, the others follow. But what would you improve first? I would argue in favor of health. Most kids in rural areas (here in Guatemala) suffer from severe malnutrition which impedes them from properly learning in school. This leads to learning difficulties, which only adds up to other factors. Can you focus on your homework if you are hungry? Another obstacle is the availability of education to those who require it and its quality. I also believe that a key factor in reducing poverty is that of birth control. Many impoverished families (here) have more than five children. They already have a hard time feeding one child, let us not mention five. This leads to child labor and an economic inability to send all their children to school. They believe that by having more kids there will be more income, which is all upside down. If families were to have two or less kids, they will be able to focus their efforts on improving their futures and offer better opportunities other than splitting that same effort in five.

Oct 24 2013:
Developing countries have many problems when facing poverty and inequality. The main solution for this to help give everyone the equal opportunity and help support families that are to poor for school or even get enough food. This can be solved by getting the government involved and helping. They could help by providing food for families that are in need of nutrients, provide more update learning facilities for children to actually be able to get a proper education, and prepare this developing countries for young intelligent workers. This should be helpful, specifically in countries like Peru which has large amounts of precious metals like gold, sliver, copper, and have plentiful amount of fish, and agriculture. Could create many jobs for the lower class, and give the social structure more equal rather than having such a big hole between rich and poor.

Oct 24 2013:
It isn't the justice from the government but only when individuals can be truly fair to themselves can we resolve the issue of poverty in our planet. It's the greatest injustice to the human soul when individuals refuse to discover their true potential. We don't need money; we do need justice first from ourselves to ourselves to retain riches. Accumulated wealth without an established identity is just another wasted effort. Daily observations of how we live our lives is enough proof. Fighting for our rights as humans without first retaining the right to trust our true potential and initiate the same is like beating the air.

Oct 24 2013:
Poverty and inequality are very large and relevant problems in our world, especially in the developing countries of modern society. Equal opportunity for all is an idea that I find extremely important in this debate. A massive economic gap often exists in these countries between the have and the have-nots. In Peru for example you see two completely different situations: the half million citizens living in Lima, and the 20 million other people living outside the cities area. While the poverty rate in Lima fell to 15.7 percent in 2011 from 44.8 percent in 2004, the rural communities suffer in feudal conditions. The rural poverty rate is nearly 54% and in the racial aspect we see the dark skinned people in poverty, while the white continue to get richer. The country and its government must do more to equal educational and economic opportunity. These people in poverty must be given the necessary resources of the developed and taught the ways of hard work and eventual self-reliance. Racial bias must also become obsolete in opportunity.